Myths and Folk Tales of Ireland

by Jeremiah Curtin

Fearsome giants, magic spells, Druidic rods of enchantment; gallant princes and beautiful princesses, brave kings and wicked queens; cloaks of invisibility, swords of light and swords of darkness, horses that go faster than the wind, animals that speak and have strange powers...these are elements common to all fairy tales, and they appear prominently in this excellent collection of Irish examples gathered by the renowned folklorist and linguist Jeremiah Curtin (1840-1906) from the West of Ireland in 1887. Taken down from Gaelic story tellers, these 20 tales fall into two parts: 11 are miscellaneous stories offering Irish versions of the general European fairy tales, and 9 are stories from the Fenian cycle--tales of Fin MacCumhail and his warriors, the Fenians of Erin.

The same fairy-tale elements apply to all the stories, however, including battles with giants, dead men who come back to life, people imprisoned in the bodies of animals, a wonderful land of perpetual youth, and heroes with incredible strength. The heroes in the miscellaneous tales tend to be sons of the Kings of Erin, with heroines like Yellow Lily, daughter of the Giant of Loch Léin; Trembling, the Irish Cinderella; the queen of Tubber Tintye; and various princesses who are in danger. The Fenian stories relate some of the adventures of Fin MacCumhail, his sons--Fialan, Oisin, Pogán, and Ceolán; his men--Diarmuid Duivne, Conán Maol MacMorna, the famous Cucúlin, and others; and strangers who are out to help or hurt the Fenians of Erin in such tales as "Fin MacCumhail and the Fenians of Erin in the Castle of Fear Dubh," and "Gilla na Grakin and Fin MacCumhail."

Tales of legend and tales of magic, these stories transport us to a world where everything is alive and anything can happen, a world born in a time before literature, and captured in print just as the oral tradition in Ireland was dying out. Considered an essential work in the history of folk-lore, this book is also a collection of fairy tales that have fascinated young and old for hundreds of years. They will continue to fascinate you and your children.

Unabridged republication of the 1890 edition, formerly titled Myths and Folk-Lore of Ireland.

Genres: Mythology, Irish Literature, Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Short Stories, Fiction, Folklore

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1890

Reviews

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories are indeed fantastic, but many have a striking resemblance to other folktales, not just from across Europe, but also to each other. Another strange aspect of the stories is the language. The way they are written often involves the use of language I was not familiar with. I don't know if this was done to make them sound outdated, but sometimes it could be difficult to deduce the meaning and it would have taken nothing away from the stories themselves if they were written more clearly.

[Todd Howell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad but a lot of redundancy. Like 3 of the same exact stories with minor differences.

[KBurns]

For lit252

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5

[Maura · Rating 4 out of 5]

i've been reading a tale or two of this every night before going to sleep - they make very good bedtime stories!

these folk tales are a bit different from those from the continent (which i'm more used to). there's no obvious (to me) "moral" of the story. Fin, the big hero, seems to be fairly ineffectual when asked to use his brain or make a decision -- he's always trying to kill off servants that he likes and respects, because one of his men (obviously jealous of EVERYONE) wants him to. way to go, king of Ireland. little vignettes get dropped into the middle of the story that seem to have no connection or bearing on the rest of it -- it's like the storyteller had a good idea that he had to use RIGHT NOW or it would disappear forever. oh, and the rule of three? completely ignored here. repeat patterns as many times as you want -- four, five, even more!

all that said, it was nice to stretch my expectations a little. a big thumbs-up here.

[Nigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fairy tales, or rather fairy stories, if that's a distinction meaningful outside of my own head, about sons and daughters and Fionn, who is a son, and the things they do, fighting giants, playing games of chance and always losing the third, stealing clothes from magician's daughters who change into swans, fighting the armies of the king of Spain, outwitting hags, getting a hell of a lot of wise and/or magical help to see them through their adventures, marrying up and making out like bandits. The repetitions and similarities grate at first, but soon the tales work their magic and you feel the rhythm and the cadences, the comfort of the familiar patterns and things that aren't so much repeated as shared. Alien to a modern audience, not really prose and certainly not poetry, artifacts of a different time and yet the very stuff our dreams are made of.

[Isabella · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was interesting in the beginning and got slow as it progressed. The contents of the book had similarities with Cinderella and other everyday story tales. Some of the stories were common and copied each other with different characters, so you kind of know what happens next. This book of forgotten Irish folk lore was a bit confusing, with it's old-time language, but otherwise, it was a great read!

[Ariel · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were some really interesting cultural notes in the introduction. It's also interesting to note the similarities of some of the stories between popular ones I read before like Cinderella, The Traveling Companion, and King Arthur. Having also read some stuff before on Irish literature and culture, it was pretty awesome reading it for myself rather than just references to the stories and themes.

[A. Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting collection of stories, and worth reading, but don't come to Jeremiah Curtin expecting an Irish cadence or tone to the stories. He is not a cultural insider, but a visitor to the island.

[A.R. Jarvis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an awesome book of Irish tales, including some typical fairy tales, and some stories based off the Fin McCool (however that's spelled) cycle. They didn't seem to be the...uh...canon stories for McCool, but they were pretty fun to read, if a bit repetitious in parts.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ireland

This book has alot of short stories about kings of Erin, the sons and daughters, giants, special swords, cloaks that help when needed, castles, humans transformed into animals.

[Jennifer Ware · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good fun for those researching thier Irish heritage.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bloody odd, that was.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the tales were more interesting than others. Overall, this was a light, easy read. I recommend to anyone that likes folk tales and myths.

[Karen Waller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful folk tales

Well told. Beware if you don't like stories written in old English or like an Irishman might tell it. I would recommend it